Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automatic pill dispensers.
Background
Pharmaceutical companies have developed a wide range of pills to treat or prevent any number of different ailments and conditions. Many people, especially the elderly are prescribed many different pills to take throughout the day. In addition, supplements have grown in popularity in recent years and many people are taking an assortment of non-prescription supplements. Keeping track of all of these pills can be difficult and time consuming. In some case, taking the wrong dose or missing a dose can lead to poor health or an emergency situation.
Pill organizers, having a plurality of compartments typically labeled with a day of the week and/or time of day, provide some organization for a plurality of pills but require manual sorting which allows for human error and may result in non-compliance of the dosing regimen. Furthermore, some non-prescription pills or supplements may have a non-desirable interactions with a prescribed pill, and pill organizers provide no means to alert the user.
Pill organizers also provide no protection from theft of the medications, whereby some prescription pills may be removed from the pill reservoirs without the knowledge of the intended pill taker. Some narcotics, and especially opiates for example, have become a major addiction problem, especially with teenagers. Prescribed medications are routinely stolen to feed their addition.
There are any number of electronic pill dispensers available and most of them require pills to be manually sorted into compartments or require the pills to be provided in a prepackaged form that can be property received by the pill organizer and/or dispenser. These types of pill dispensers do not provide a means to confirm the proper pill was loaded into an appropriate reservoir which can lead to non-compliance with the dosing schedule for one or more pills.
Many family members and caregivers not residing with a user/patient required to take any number of pills, worry about compliance to a dosing regimen. In many cases, they are forced to check in on the patient to ensure that they are complying with the dosing regimen.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser that allows a user to load a plurality of pills, each into their own reservoir, whereby pills may be removed from the reservoirs and provided to the user at appropriate dosing times.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser that can interface with scheduling software to confirm that the proper pill was loaded into a reservoir.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser that can interface with scheduling software to alert the user of an interaction between a pill to be loaded and one in the dispenser.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser or pill dispenser system that can alert the user that a dose is ready through a remote electronic device.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser system that can alert a caregiver, or other alert contact, by an email, text, or phone call, if a dose has not been taken for a preset alert time.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser system that can interface with a scheduling software that is linked with a prescribing pill database.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser system that can compare dosing schedules for a given pill with a prescription dosing regimen to ensure compliance.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser system that can check and track compliance of dosing with scheduling software and provide a report on compliance with the dosing schedule.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser that can interface with scheduling software that is run on a remote electronic device, such as a mobile phone.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser that can receive and confirm loading of prescribed pills and also receive a non-prescribed pill and inform the user of any side-effects.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser that can keep track of the quantity and type of pills within the dispenser and display this information to a user through a remote electronic device.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser that can keep track of and provide a report of non-compliance events.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser that can automatically update a dosing regimen based on a missed dose or non-compliance.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser that can dispense pills when needed, such as non-prescription pills and prescription pills with a “take as needed” dosing prescription.
There exists a need for a pill dispenser that retains the pills in an enclosure having a door that can lock, whereby a user can open the door by inputting a password. This type of pill dispenser would prevent theft of medications from the dispenser.
It is therefore the objective of this invention to provide a pill dispenser and dispensing system that meets any combination of the above needs.